


the ghost of you keeps me awake

by rushie



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-08
Updated: 2015-02-08
Packaged: 2018-03-11 01:02:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3310013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rushie/pseuds/rushie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>au where steve is found in the ice shortly after the events of this season of AC and jarvis tries to subtly (read: not subtle at all) interrogate him about his ‘intentions’ toward peggy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the ghost of you keeps me awake

Peggy was still skeptical about the car phone, but it wasn't her car, and so there was nothing she could do about it. Howard insisted it was easier this way, less hazardous than having men track her down with messages--less hazardous for the men, at any rate. But that didn't stop her from glaring at it when it rang shrilly. She and Jarvis were on a stakeout, and she flapped a hand frantically for the receiver; the sound cut through the quiet night like a gunshot.

" _What?_ " she snarled into the receiver, not bothering with a hello. In the driver's seat, Jarvis quirked an eyebrow. The corner of his mouth turned up in a slight smile.

"Now, Peg, don't hang up--"

" _Howard_ ," she hissed. " _This is not the time._ "

"Peg, listen--" 

Peggy huffed in exasperation. "Howard, I am in the middle of a  _very important_ stakeout at the moment, I do  _not_ have time for another of your  _ridiculous_  plans--"

"Peg--"

"And this abomination you've installed in the car is going to get both Mr. Jarvis and myself  _killed_  in the near future if you don't stop--"

" _Peggy, listen to me._ " 

There was an urgency in Howard's tone that made her stop mid-tirade. She closed her mouth and waited, phone pressed to her ear. Howard took a deep, shaky breath. 

"We found him."

 

* * *

 

  
Jarvis had known something was afoot the moment Peggy had stopped talking. A strange look had come over her face, and she'd murmured a  _thank you_  to Howard and set down the receiver. After staring through the windshield for several long, tense seconds--Jarvis knew better by now than to ask her any questions--she'd asked him to take her home.   


When Jarvis next saw Howard Stark, his employer was haggard, his hair mussed and dark circles under his eyes. He was obviously exhausted, but there was also a relieved and jubilant air about him. He chattered to Jarvis the whole time he zipped through the house, getting a change of clothes and stuffing a muffin into his mouth in a few quick bites. Before he left again, Jarvis elicited a favor.

It felt wrong, somewhat, to be standing here with Howard Stark, outside of Steve Rogers's hospital room, when Peggy Carter was still in her apartment. She would undoubtedly be furious when she found out, but there was something inexplicable about the way Jarvis felt. He had to do this. For himself. He had to know. He'd been warned that Captain Rogers might show signs of disorientation and that he could be aggressive. From what Jarvis had heard of the man, however, he highly doubted the latter. He would take his chances.

He found the captain sitting on the edge of his bed, looking contemplative. He glanced up when Jarvis entered, then got to his feet and came to meet him, his expression guarded. Jarvis didn't blame him for his confusion--Jarvis looked quite out of place in the hospital.

He was surprised by just how  _big_  Captain Rogers was. Jarvis was a tall man, but Steve Rogers was tall  _and_  broad. It was not often a man could easily look Jarvis in the eye, but Steve Rogers could. There was an easy authority about the way he stood--a soldier's posture--and Jarvis forced himself to stand still, hands behind his back. The corners of his lips twitched upward in a smile that was probably more of a grimace.

"Can I help you?" Rogers stopped several feet away; the men eyed each other warily across the divide.

"Yes, well. Mr. Rogers--er," Jarvis cleared his throat, tried again. "Captain Rogers, it's a pleasure to meet you." When the other man continued to study him, he continued in a rush, "It's come to my attention that you were close with one Miss Carter, and, well, Miss Carter and I have become--" He resisted the urge to tug his earlobe. "We are partners, of sorts, as of late, and--"

There was something about the way Rogers was studying him that made Jarvis stop. The man had barely moved--his head was merely inclined slightly to one direction--but there was something in his eyes, some  _knowing_. His mouth had the appearance of a smile about to form.

"You're Edwin Jarvis," Rogers said. It wasn't a question. "Howard's butler."

Jarvis offered that smile-grimace again and bowed slightly. "At your service."

"Heh." 

It was hard to tell whether the sound Steve let out was a laugh or a sigh. He studied Jarvis a moment longer, and there was no disguising the knowing smile on his face now. He looked...amused, for reasons Jarvis couldn't discern. Maybe his long nap in the ice  _had_  unbalanced him.

The captain moved forward then, closing the distance. He looked ridiculous in his hospital robe and scrub pants, but still Jarvis had to fight an instinct to step back. He held his ground, albeit nervously, as Captain America approached. The men studied each other for a long moment, and then Captain Rogers stuck out his hand. Jarvis flinched, glanced from the hand to the man's face and back, then tentatively extracted one of his own from behind his back and shook it.

"Thank you," Rogers said. He shook Jarvis's hand warmly, sincerely, as if they were old friends.

Jarvis frowned. "Whatever for?"

"Looking after Peggy. For having her back."

Jarvis drew himself up. "With all due respect, Captain, I don't think Miss Carter much needs anyone watching her back."

Steve laughed, a soft, quiet sound that was just him blowing more air out of his nose than usual. His lips parted, and he chuckled. He looked away, head down and to the side; his eyelashes were very long. "No," he admitted, almost as if to himself. "No, she definitely does not." He looked up again. "Still," he said. He shifted then, and suddenly he was just a man, uncertain about meeting someone for the first time. He might have been Captain America to most people, but Jarvis was glad he had gotten to meet Steve Rogers instead.

"It's great to meet you, Mr. Jarvis," Rogers said. "I think we'll be good friends."

"Likewise, Captain," Jarvis replied, inclining his head. "Likewise."


End file.
